Having waited 63 years for an Ivy League football title, Columbia had to stand by for another 40 minutes. The Lions had beaten Cornell 17-9 but needed a Harvard loss against Yale to secure a share of first place on the season's final day.

If you asked a sports fan of a certain age, “Who is the worst in college football?” one popular answer would probably be the Columbia Lions. After all, Columbia went through a notorious 44-game (and then record-setting) losing streak in the 1980s that garnered national attention.

Columbia only can control one piece of the elusive puzzle. But the Lions (6-3 overall, 4-2 conference) have put themselves within touching distance of their first Ivy League football title since 1961.